Kantai Collection Short Stories
by Nukoko
Summary: Admirals and ship girls alike. Each of them have stories to tell. The pains of the past, the troubles of the present, the hopes for the future. Read on and see short stories of both humor and drama, of pain and comfort, of both sadness and happiness.
1. Zodiark Act I

**Salutations! This is Nuko with a fic on my current obsession, Kantai Collection. Kancolle Short Stories will be a collection of short stories that don'e necessarily have any connection with each other. I have the urge to write about it every now and then and I'll put them up here if I ever make some.**

**This particular story entitled "Zodiark" was made from a challenge by a forum user of the same name.**

**The original story (the 1st draft) was only 4000 words... but then I decided to revise it and by the time I realized it, I already had 4.5k worth of words _even before _I finished act 1 (and this is 3 parts...). Well I said screw it and just go with a 3 shot story~**

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={ACT I}==**

**=={Reminiscence}==**

He sat on his ever so familiar seat in his office doing normal day to day tasks that all admirals had to go through. Though such a way of phrasing made it sound like there were various different tasks he needed to attend that required him to be on the move constantly it was in reality far worse.

Admiral work was compromised of 80% paperwork. Hence most of his time was spent seated on his disturbingly familiar seat reading the printed and written ink of varying colours on white sheets of A4 and legal sized paper. It had somehow become an unwritten and unspoken rule among his beloved ship girls that his seat was not to be touched and was for his exclusive use only as they feared that the imprint on the leather might change if anyone even tries to get near.

He honestly only had himself to blame for his current situation really. He had a distinguished military service despite his age and had participated in many operations due to both the skills and talent he had displayed during training. The scar across his eye was one of the many relics left by those days.

Ship girls at the time weren't common knowledge and so his perception on what an admiral did was rather different. It was a boyhood dream of his to command a large battleship and thread the open seas. Such a thing was more than worth any amount of paperwork he would ever have to deal with. Unfortunately however said boyhood dream was forever crushed by the fact that he was actually the admiral of a fleet of ship girls and was not going to be riding a humongous battleship in the open seas anytime soon.

There was resentment at first, one he carried even until he first stepped into the Buin base. Said resentment however was all completely dissipated exactly 6 nanoseconds after looking meeting his secretary ship.

He wanted to say to headquarters that using cuteness like that was absolutely criminal but he had to admit it was damn effective in inspiring him to work. He only had to glance a bit to his beloved ship girls in order to take the wear he felt from paperwork.

'_Speaking of which, the main fleet should be back by now… what would be taking them so long?'_

For a moment his brain rushed to every grave possibility. From an tragic sinking in battle to Aoba finding his most embarrassing childhood secrets and spreading them around with her newspaper but he stopped himself.

His girls were strong and well trained. There was no way they would lose to some abyssal during a sortie, especially with his strict 'no sinking' policy and his childhood secrets were all locked into a metal chest with over twenty different locks and copious amount of chains, buried ten feet under the ground in a forest filled with dangerous animals that only his family knows how to navigate. Anyone who knew of this had already passed away or could be trusted with his life.

Aoba wasn't getting anywhere near that thing. He had long ago wanted to destroy it but he didn't want to go against the wishes of his deceased parents whom wanted to preserve such memories. Though he wanted to argue that said memories needed to be burned into ashes and scattered into the air, he decided otherwise.

'Aoba's been getting too curious about me lately…. I might have—'

*Knock* *Knock*

His musings that had gotten severely side-tracked was broken by a knock on the door. He was again reminded of why his girls were late and if Aoba had gotten to them but his thoughts were again cut off as he saw an unfamiliar face.

Among the main fleet that entered, which was composed of Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Haruna, Akagi and Kaga, was a brown skinned girl with a strange attire. She stood moved with grace and stood with dignity. A calm and collected air surrounded her and her eyes, behind the glasses, showed confidence. Her attire, which was composed of nothing but a red skirt and a sarashi, covered her voluptuous figure. Her rigging was large and numerous, easily classifying her a battleship

All was silent as he spent time looking over the new recruit, sizing her up, reading her posture and non-verbal cues. He had done the same with all of the new recruits and he was impressed that she stood and looked back at him without flinching or fidgeting.

The small smile she showed him when he had looked directly at her face said two things: 'Look all you want, I am proud of who I am and there is nothing I am ashamed off' and 'Like what you see?'.

He decided that he like this one very much.

When he closed his eyes the main fleet that stood at both sides of the new recruit converged and stood behind said recruit. Yamato stepped forward with a smile that was a mixture of relief and elation.

"Admiral this is Musashi. She had just been constructed through LSC. We had bumped into her as we were returning from the sortie" Yamato spoke gently and calmly like always. He could feel her barely masked desire to jump for joy.

He sat up straight and looked at the new recruit, prompting her to introduce herself. She respondd with a nod and straightened her posture.

"Musashi, second of the Yamato class, has arrived!" She introduced herself.

"Welcome to the fleet. I am admiral…. Zodiark. I a pleasure to be working with you" He looked at Musashi's expression as he stated his name while resting the side of his face on his hands to bring attention to his scar.

Showing his scar and saying his name was another way for him to gage the personality of the recruits. His name either provoked a confused or interested look on the recruits for the normal ones and indifference for the stoic ones. His scar on the other hand was usually met with concern, slight interest, barely masked interest, and his favourite, unmasked looked of admiration coupled with sparkling starry eyes. The last ones were from Tenryuu and Kiso. The only different meeting was with Aoba who had essentially interrogated him seconds after introduction.

He had never let his guard down against Aoba since then. Partly due to his training of intentionally keeping information about himself limited and partly because he had a lot of things he didn't want others to find out.

Musashi on the other hand replied with a raise of the brow and a smile, things he attributed to as expressions of slight interest. He concluded she was one of the calmer non- excessively battle crazed ones. The introduction and way of speaking told him she was proud.

'_This is going to be an interesting one'_

**=={Zodiark}==**

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up on his bed. He stayed that way for a moment, recalling the dream he just had. The sleepiness was all already gone.

It was a dream of the first time Musashi had come into their base. It was vivid and he could remember every detail of the dream. He remembered that Aoba had crashed in shortly after the introductions, charging through the door while holding a pad of paper and pen, and began asking questions. Musashi didn't bat an eye and answered every question down without shame or embarrassment, even the one including her three sizes. It was chaos.

He smiled at the fond memory but quickly shook his head to shake it off before he started to think of sadder ones that followed it. He got up from his bed and changed into a set of comfortable sportswear and quietly went out of his room, making sure to lock it before leaving. He had no need for curious ship girls going inside.

He grabbed a bottle of water and made his way to the track and field course on the training grounds. The sun had yet to set and the place was dark with minimal lighting but he adjusted his eyes quickly due to practice and performed some warm-up exercises.

When he was done he started jogging around the track, pretending not to notice the small hidden cameras on the lamp posts scattered around the field. He knew who put it there and allowed it to capture him in. He chose his battles and he was pretty sure there were copious amounts of pictures and videos of himself circulated around the base. If it helped motivate his girls then he had nothing to complain about. It was all fine as long as there weren't any in his shower room.

After the jog he proceeded with post exercise stretches and cooled himself down with some water. He went back to the room to take a shower on the bathroom connected to it, making sure to check for any weird equipment inside first. After the shower he got into uniform, making sure to check that everything was in order.

"Admiral, you're energetic in the morning too, huh?"

He immediately looked behind him as he felt like he heard a familiar voice. One he shouldn't be hearing, but only saw a pair of broken glasses sitting atop the table.

He approached it and fiddled a bit with the pair of glasses., smiling bitterly at the memories that had accompanied it. As he raised his head he saw the date on the calendar and the dreams and voices he saw and heard made a bit more sense.

It was the 24th of October, the day that he, the fleet, and the entirety of the Buin base had lost someone important and cherished.

It was the day that they had lost Musashi.

He gently clutched the pair of glasses that once belonged to his secretary ship, reminded of the time he learned of her sinking but shook his head to ward such thoughts off.

"Even now I remember that day clearly. No… I made sure to burn it into my memory."

"I would see dreams about you and sometimes I would hear your voice… It's alright though… if you are still here watching over us then don't ever let me stop feeling your presence and hearing your voice. I… would rather like that than the alternative"

He spoke, mostly in hopes that Musashi was truly there with him to hear. He had this unreasonable fear within him that he might someday forget what it felt like to be around her, what her voice sounded like when she spoke, or how she looked like every day. There were times when he fully expected her to be the one to enter the door of his office, and at times hoped for it to be the case.

He took a few deep breaths and washed his face with some cold water to get himself back to normal. It wouldn't do for his ship girls to see him as he was now. He couldn't take the looks of sadness and concern they would have when they saw him like that. He liked seeing them smile and laugh, or with the more stoic ones, a blank face that hid their emotions of happiness. Though he never points it out, he could always tell whether his more stoic ships were feeling sad or happy. It was in their eyes and body language.

Unfortunately the ship girls could also do the same with him. The amount of time they had spent had given some of the girls the ability to read him. It was rather worrying when Akebono was being gentle with him.

With another deep breathe he fixed his uniform again and checked his expression on the mirror. Seeing that he looked relatively normal enough he headed out.

"Once again and just like always, watch over me today, Musashi"

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={Reminiscence}==**

"Listen up." He spoke, his voice stern and his face serious. The fleet stood straight, knowing what was to come. Yamato was in front, serving as the flagship for the operation. To her side was Musashi. Behind them were Nagato, Mutsu, Akagi and Kaga. They were going to head out to the newly discovered area in sector 2-5.

"You are not allowed to sink." He started. It was a speech he would make for every major sortie. It was the policy, the absolute rule that he imposed upon the ship girls. Even minor ones were accompanied by a small reminder of it.

Major sorties usually involved exploring new territory, locations with known boss appearances or going on locations dubbed "extra operation maps". They were far more dangerous than normal ones with a very risk of sinking for the girls.

"You are going out there well equipped in both weapons and intel."

"You will move and proceed with utmost caution and alertness."

"You will fight with precision and adherence to the tactics you are trained in…"

"… and finally remember.** That your lives will always be more important than anything else**"

"_If even one_ of you takes major damage, **you will retreat no matter what**"

"Understood?"

He finished, emphasizing the most important parts. He had said this countless times before and would continue to say it no matter how many times more. He wanted it to a point where every ship girl in his base, regardless of their tasks, would be able to recite his speech when prompted to at any time.

It was dubbed by his fellow admirals and by the ship girls as the "Pledge of No Sinking". A crude name but the contents and the intent of the pledge were what mattered most.

"YES SIR!"

His girls replied in unison, their face completely serious. The pledge of no sinking was very important and relevant to them. They held their comrades dear, especially those they have fought with in history. Some they saw as families, some they saw as close friends, and some they saw as significant others. Hence to them, the pledge meant everything.

He nodded as he heard the reply. He smiled and looked at all of them.

"Be careful out there and take care. Come back home safe." He said with warmth and a bit of worry. The girls all smiled confidently in response.

"Don't worry admiral. This Musashi won't be defeated so easily" Musashi spoke, causing him to grin. They had gotten along particularly well since her arrival and she had served as his secretary ship often.

"Make sure you don't. Alright… Sally forth" He saluted and the girls responded with one of their own. He saw them off as they went off into the seas.

He would later regret not personally checking all of their equipment. A regret he would carry for eternity.

**=={Zodiark}==**

"Admiral?" A voice broke him out of his thoughts. He did his best to suppress the need to shout and jump in surprise. He spent a second to organize his thoughts before looking at the one calling to him.

'_Right... I'm in my office. Calm down.'_

"Yes?" He answered as he raised his head, making sure his voice sounded normal and his expression professional. His heart sank at as he saw who it was.

'_Damn… of all the ships that would catch me like this…'_

Aoba stood in front of his desk. Her usual happy and mischievous look was replaced with a worried one. That meant she might have seen through him despite his attempts at hiding.

"I came to report about the current state of our resources, they number at 20 thousand for each except for bauxite which is at 10 thousand. The records show that the ones obtained from expeditions minus the ones used for the sorties don't match up. We should have far more than what we have right now" Aoba spoke in seriousness as she stated her findings.

'_Damn… she's speaking seriously. She noticed and saw through me'_

The fact that Aoba was _being serious_ was enough proof that she did indeed see through him. His girls were very considerate and in Aoba's case, she probably felt like that he wasn't up for any of the usual antics and so reported seriously.

"I see. Please check in with the bauxite supplies and try and see if you can find where the discrepancy comes from. Try and ask the carriers as well and by that I mean Akagi. If Akagi won't budge, ask Kaga. If she averts her eyes while answering even _by a millimetre_, then Akagi's guilty."

He tried to make it sound like a joke to appear fine though he was being particularly serious with the last statements. Kaga was a serious person but she had the tendency to do weird things when it came to making Akagi happy.

"Understood" Aoba replied curtly and saluted before walking out the door of his office. He honestly wished that she just stayed and tried to get details of his history from him like she usually would.

This was going to be a very long day.

**=={Zodiark}==**

'_Damn it. Damn that Aoba. I understand that she did it out of concern but I don't know how if I can take any more of this'_

He cursed in his head. Everyone knew what day it was today so he had done everything he could to hide the slight feeling of depression he had. He was quite sure that he would've succeeded if he hadn't let his guard down with Aoba.

"Haaah… I love all of them but I really am fine now…" He spoke to no one in particular. He was grateful for their concern and consideration but he didn't like burdening them, or anyone for that matter, with his problems.

He was just reminiscing. It wasn't like he was stuck in one corner of the room writing sad and emo-ish poetry. That was years ago when he was younger. He was a mature adult now.

'_The expedition fleet... Akebono came in and didn't say "shitty admiral" even once. She even spoke gently. GENTLY. To me of all people.' _

Akebono was foul mouthed and often times abrasive especially when it came to dealing with him, but when she knew he was sad for one reason or another she usually held back ad chose her words. The others from the expedition fleet also expressed their concern in different ways.

Shimakaze was very quiet, making sure not to make a single sound or even speak unless addressed to. He had once jokingly scolded her for her constant utterance of 'speed' and she had probably taken her to heart much to his regret. She only looked at him timidly.

Ushio and Yukikaze had blatant look of concern and sadness on their faces as they looked at him. Shigure, the flagship, looked gently at him probably wanting to give him a hug. Her sister on the other hand, Yuudachi, _was_ giving him a hug. He arms were wrapped around his head as she pushed the side of his head to her chest.

Thankfully that only lasted for a few minutes before they went off for expedition 21. That was only the start though and it got much worse.

When he came in to the cafeteria for lunch many of the girls _tried_ not to glance at his with concern. Normal human food was served there, which the ship girls could also eat, and Mamiya gave him extra helpings. Houshou made sure that he didn't have to do anything as she served the food to him. Chitose and Jun'you had offered to pour him a drink but he refused.

When he was at the table, Akagi, the greatest glutton of the base _shared her food with him. __**Shared her food with him.**_ That itself was already insane but against all odds Kaga, Akagi's number one fangirl, didn't even show a hint of jealousy like she usually would. She remained stoic. Worried stoic, not usual stoic, not even jealous fangirl stoic and though there were very minute differences between those expressions, he could tell.

As he was getting back to his office Ooi and Kitakami passed by and gave him a small tap on the shoulder. Fusou and even Yamashiro gave him small hug as he passed by them. The small destroyers that he encountered practically charged at him in an attempt to hug him. Inazuma was close tears as she did so.

When he took a break after finishing his paperwork later, he sat on the bench around the small plaza in the middle of the base. That place could be seen almost anywhere from the base. Naka happened to be there practicing her singing and saw him. He signalled to her that she should continue and not mind him but she did something different.

She sung. Not her usual upbeat, cheery and high energy idol songs that may actually get annoying at times and that only some of the other ship girls truly enjoyed. She sung a hauntingly beautiful ballad in a calm and gentle voice with none of the usual theatrics. By the time she was done, the majority of the girls in the base were spectating from different parts of the building. He simply nodded to her to show his gratitude to which she smiled warmly.

At 3 in the afternoon while he was in his office. Kongou came in and served him tea. She didn't speak a word as they drank it in peace. When they were done she approached him and embraced him gently. Not her usual cling and/or flirty hugs, it was an honest to god hug of comfort. When she let go she encouraged him that they were always there for him no matter what and left.

Yuubari came in right after and placed a manga, an anime dvd and a light novel of her favourite series on top of his table and quickly left. Amatsukaze, Samidare and Hatsukaze came in, hugged him for a second and left afterwards in succession.

Those were actually the most notable ones as nearly every ship girl in the fleet had made sure to express their concerns in one way or the other.

'_Just a bit more… The day will end soon and I'm sure they'll feel that I'm all better tomorrow. I just have to wait for the main fleet to return'_

He thought as he sighed in exhaustion. He picked up some of the snacks left by the Kongou sisters and drank some of the cola left by the submarines when they came by. The main fleet was to return within an hour and that would signal the end of his day and he could return to his quarters.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

He was a bit surprised at the frantic knocking from his door and quickly asked them to come in. The main fleet with worried and confused faces came in. They were composed Haruna, the flagship who was being trained for her next remodel, Yamato, Mutsu, Nagato accompanied by Shoukaku and Zuikaku.

Yamato had one look at him then proceeded to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Before she could speak however, Aoba came bursting through the door.

"Aoba, what—" He was cut-off as Aoba was didn't seem to notice the others and was frantically flipping through her notes.

"Admiral, call back the main fleet. There was a sighting of a Battleship princess at sector 2-5! I don't think they're properly equipped—"

"Aoba… calm down. The main fleet's here" he said sternly, catching his attention. The news surprised him but he needed to calm everyone down.

"Alright, Yamato, is this related to why all you have returned early?" He asked seriously. He looked at all of the girls in the main fleet to see if there were any major damages but was relieved to find that there were only moderate damages.

"Yes. As we were approaching the target node on sector 2-5, we were met with an unexpected situation. The fleet had been the expected composition except for one… among them was a Battleship Princess." She reported with a disturbed look on her face.

"The Battleship Princess was slightly away from the fleet and nearer our location. I was quite sure that she had noticed our presence but paid us no heed. Both Zuikaku-san, Shoukaku-san and Haruna-san had already sustained moderate damage in the former node so I had decided to call for a retreat." She continued and ended her report. The three moderately damaged ships in question looked a bit down but he smiled at them to make sure that they won't take it to heart.

"That was the correct decision. Yamato and the rest, please get rested, repaired and resupllied. Aoba, stay here and tell me more" He ordered and the fleet all left after he received a short hug from all of them.

'_Is it really that obvious?'_ He couldn't help but ask himself. The main fleet shouldn't have been able to know of what was happening in the base unless Aoba had gone out of her way to tell them via transmission….

He shook his head, putting it off for later. He needed to focus since a stray Battleship Princess was very worrisome. If one could stray at sector 2-5, then it was possible that others could stray off to other sectors. He shuddered at the thought of one getting to sector 1-1, the training grounds for the ship girls.

"Admiral" Aoba caught his attention. This time she was truly serious, the type of seriousness that only came during important situations. He nodded to let her continue.

"Earlier today I had received reports from HQ and other bases bout sightings of a stray abyssal travelling through different areas. It been nothing more than hearsay at that point and nothing concrete but at about 1500 hours I had received news of a report from Kanoya Base whose fleet had actually encountered said stray." Aoba continued while flipping through her notes.

"They confirmed that said stray was actually a Battleship Princess. They had encountered her during an attempt at clearing 2-4. According to the reports of the fleet itself, she had appeared at the _second node_ right after they had cleared the enemy fleet in there." She had a disturbed look as she mentioned that an upper-class abyssal ship would appear at the second node. It went against the behavioural patterns that have been observed and documented over the years.

"They had prepared themselves for an assault but to their surprise, the Battleship Princess had _retreated _from them instead. Information is currently being reviewed by HQ. They will be sending a formal notice later this evening to warn admirals of the dangers of sortieing in the totality of sector 2." She closed her notes as she finished reporting, giving him a look of concern about the recent events.

"Thank you. Please keep up with any developments and keep me informed. Get some rest, it looks like you've worked hard enough for today. Inform the others that we will have a general assembly tomorrow. Attendance _will be mandatory_. That is all" He told Aoba in seriousness. The situation was actually far more grave than what it seemed.

"What the heck is happening?"

A question directed at no one in particular.


	2. Zodiark Act II

**Hmm now how long has it been since I had actually touched this story? If not for the reminder of a certain friend, I may have already left this one in the shelf.**

**Well here's the second act of the intended 3-shot story, Zodiark. It's littered with foreshadowing for the last act really.**

**Enjoy~**

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={ACT II}==**

**=={Fleeting Contentment}==**

It was frightening thing, what lay below the water. To an existence like herself that was made to fight above its surface, to go below it was the same as death.

She was afraid of it, what was in that endless void of darkness, what was waiting at the very bottom of the abyss. All of them had thought of it, feared it, dreamed of it and imagined it but only those submarines had ever had any idea. There were books, images and films that showed it, but all of them had simply generally avoided such things.

She had always wanted to ask them what it was like but there was this unreasonable fear tugging at her consciousness, always preventing her from voicing out her curiosity.

She regretted it. She regretted not asking that question. If she had then she might have been able to appreciate the wondrous beauty that was offered by the depths of the ocean.

She felt a slight tinge of jealousy towards the submarines; they were the only ones able to marvel at this great sight.

Marine life of all shapes and sizes, illumination from cute little critters, a garden of corals that could easily trump any human made marvel above ground. If she could have, she would have taken her sister and admiral to enjoy the sight.

Yamato would've been hesitant but she would easily be able to convince her. Her admiral would definitely jump on the chance.

They could've held hands, the three of them as they enjoy the view, relaxing as they allowed the waves and currents to gently rock their bodies as they bathed in the small amount of light that pierced the depths of the ocean from the surface.

It would have been a wonderful experience but now…

Now that was only a fleeting dream.

However even then she was rather satisfied. She was satisfied with the life she's lead, the battle she's fought and the image she'd left behind. All of them were strong so she didn't have to worry, they would live on and fight without her. They'd shed tears and mourn yes… but all of them would emerge with renewed vigor, ready to overcome any obstacle that may come their way.

If there was one thing that she could've absolutely done, the one thing she truly regretted was not being able to tell both her sister and admiral her feelings.

She laughed at herself. She carried an air of dignity and grace despite her daring attire but when it came to expressing herself, to saying three simple words to the two most precious people in her life she felt as useless as a carrier in a night battle.

Now that was saying something.

…..

The light from the surface gradually faded. She was actually surprised how slow her descent into the dark depths was going. Her weight was no joke though there may have been some kind of logical explanation that she didn't want to bother with.

She simply closed her eyes, content with what she had seen, only one question floating in her mind.

'_Where do ship girls go when they die?'_

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={Unneeded Anxiety}==**

_*Poke* *Poke* _

There was strange feeling of being touched. She couldn't exactly place where or what was touching her but she really didn't want her sleep to be interrupted.

_*Poke* *Poke* _

She bristled at the persistent poking but she was adamant in ignoring the sensation. She had no intention of losing to whomever or whatever was intent on interrupting her glorious sleep.

_*Poke* *Poke* *Poke* *Poke* _

This time the poking became faster and more numerous. She really wanted to ignore it, to simply go back to the joys of her dreams but it looked like the thing that was bothering her needed a good shot to the face for their troubles.

"Exactly why can't you just—"

She sat up and held the offending hand that was poking her, fully intent on unloading a few shells to get her point across but she was frozen solid at the sight before.

The hand she was holding tightly was small and feeble. It looked like a twig that could break at any given moment if she were to press hard enough. She took in the appearance, of the child, one that was clothed strangely.

She seemed to be wearing a white one piece dress without sleeves. The hands that had been poking her seemed to be in mittens while she seemed to have been wearing a peculiar collar. Her long white and messy her as well as her red eyes that showed fear melted any sort of anger she was able to muster up.

They were frozen like that for a few seconds before some kind of round object suddenly flew and attempted to ram her, likely in defense the child. She was able to defend easily but she didn't understand why looking at that round object made her dread so much.

"Hnnn….?!"

The look of fear in the eyes of the child in front of her seemed to worsen as she could feel the child trying to escape her grasp. She actually found it cute how she was trying hard to make her let go with by repeatedly hitting her with those tiny mitten clad hands.

"H-hoppou-chan….?"

"…?"

She suddenly heard a meek voice laced with concern from the other side of the cavern.

'_A… cavern…?'_

She only now realized that she was indeed inside a cavern of sorts. She looked around and tried to determine her location, trying hard to remember why she was here in the first place.

She was inside a dark cavern. She was surprised she was even able to see so clearly despite the lighting being limited to the small sources of light on the walls. She had no idea what those lights were but they generally resembled lanterns.

She looked down to behind her so see a large body of water, probably an underground stream. What she found strange was how deep it seemed. It felt like going that deep would be a point of no return.

'_Where do ship girls go when they die?'_

A strange yet familiar voice had entered his mind. She knew what that voice was but couldn't for the life of her place where she had heard it. For a moment, the image of being sinking in water, surrounded by metallic debris had flashed in her sights, surprising her enough to let go of the child she was holding.

"Oof…!"

The child, unprepared, had landed on her butt. The various round flying objects fussing about her like mother hens. She puffed up her cheeks as she stared at her but she was far too preoccupied with trying to understand what significance the image held.

"H-Hoppou-chan!"

The voice that she had heard before, now louder, had taken her attention away from the fleeting image. It felt like she was about to recall something important, something that would take away the sudden feeling of emptiness in her chest.

A feeling of nausea assaulted her and she felt like fainting. She attempted to rub her forehead but had noticed something far more surprising.

Horns, small appendages that grew from the base of her hairline and extending upwards. She felt strange, feeling that the horns should've always been there but at the same time shouldn't. She traced the horns with her fingers, trying to understand why she was doubting she ever had one when she had seen the reflection of her face on the water.

_She looked different._

_She felt different._

Those two thoughts dominated her mind. The black dress she wore, the horns on her head, the red color of her eyes and the long flowing jet black hair on her head. They all felt familiar, felt like they should've have always been there from the start, that she was born with these things.

_Yet for some reason, she felt like she was looking at a face that was not hers._

Her mind and heart were in turmoil. Her mind told her that the body and appearance she had now was what she always had, while her heart made her feel like it should've been different.

She pressed her hands on her head and closed her eyes, trying hard to sort herself out, trying to make sense of the conflicting thoughts and feelings.

'_Ad…miral…!'_

Who was it, who was it that she was calling for?

"A-ah… a-are you okay…?"

The concerned voice broke her out of her reverie and once again, those strange thoughts and emotions vanished into thin air, like it never existed to begin with. In that moment she felt inexplicably calm but at the same time worried.

'_What was it? What did I fail to grasp?'_

She didn't like being in such turmoil but for some reason, there was something tugging at the back of her head, telling her to never let those feelings go.

'…_or I'll lose something important'_

"I… I'm fine…"

She spoke and she was surprised how different her voice seemed to her just like her appearance. She stood up with some effort, feeling like her body didn't seem to respond as well as she had hoped.

"You are… a comrade… would you like to… join us…?"

She looked at the figure of the voice. She was tall, more so than her. She had long flowing white hair and wore a white dress that showcased her rather amazing proportions. The child that was poking her awake was hiding behind woman's legs, puffing her cheeks and looking at her like she was some kind of mean spirit.

"Join… you?"

She uttered the words to make sure. When she heard the white woman call her a comrade, she felt like she was saying the truth. So she decides to utter the phrase itself, to see if it would cause some kind of disparity or contradiction in her emotions.

Thankfully there were none.

"I… I guess I will…"

There was some hesitation in her voice but if she didn't want to stagnate then she needed to move. Hopefully something would let her recall the memories that seemed to escape her grasp.

"Name… what is your name?"

The white woman asked her and that question brought her to a pause.

'_What is my name?'_

She closed her eyes again and bit her lip, unwilling to show such an unsightly display as she had done so earlier. She felt like she should carry herself with pride and dignity and nothing less.

"I… am… Symbiotic Hime…"

There was a name, a different name that was sitting on the tip of her tongue but no matter how much she tried she just couldn't remember what it was.

So she went for that, a name that sounded more like a title, a name that felt fitting of her current state for some reason.

"Symbiotic Hime… yes, you are one of us"

The woman in white as well as the child hiding behind her legs seemed to visibly relax when they had heard her utter her name. She didn't understand why they had done so or why they seemed to know what she was but it seemed like her behavior was natural for them.

"Let us go… follow me and Hoppou-chan. We will explain things there"

She had questions, quite a lot of them in fact. Hopefully… she'd get the answer to them soon.

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={Strange Camaraderie}==**

**Abyssals**

That's what they were all called. They were existences that were supposed to do battle with humans and ship girls.

After following the pair, Wanko and Hoppo as they the child had name them, she was able to meet fellow abyssal ships. There were in all shapes and sizes, some looking far too revealing and daring, a sentiment in which she strangely approved of.

At a glance they looked menacing. Merely looking at all of them, despite feeling a sense of camaraderie, put her on edge. The strange weapons they had that seemed to have some form of sentience sounded alarms in her head.

She felt like there was a need for her to be ready for an attack, like all of them were her enemies.

Oddly enough they smiled at her in sympathy when they saw her inching away from them with a look of wariness. When all of them gave her a warm and gentle smile, it felt like all her suspicion flew right out of the cavern walls.

"It's fine"

One of them spoke gently. She remembered that the child had called her Midway onee-chan. She had an elegant vibe form her posture. Her mature appearance made it seem like she was the calmest and most collected among the other abyssals.

"We have all gone through what you had felt before. You remember things that are out of place, feel that the body and appearance you have are not yours and that there is something, a memory or emotion that strikes you but can never grasp."

She was surprised at how specific the sentiments were.

"Is it… natural for us to have this?"

"Yes… it fades and disappears in time"

The reply surprised her.

"You… the feelings fade and disappear? Why would…"

She asked in worry. She didn't want it disappear. She wanted to keep feeling it and to be able to grasp it. Doing so felt like she would be able to regain something important.

"Yes they will. Do not worry… the feelings of despair, anxiety, fear and regret that plagues your heart and mind will be gone. You simply have to wait and ignore them. We will make sure you don't have to suffer anymore"

'_Despair?'_

She couldn't help but be confused. The feelings and memories she had made her anxious but remembering them always gave her a pleasant feeling.

'_Am I… different..?'_

Before she realized it, Midway had already approached and pulled her into an embrace. It felt oddly pleasant, like being reunited with a long lost sister. Soon she could feel the others gathering behind her.

When Midway had let go she pulled her arm while the others followed from behind.

"I will show it you now… our home"

There were many things she was still uncertain about but at the very least she knew that being together with this strange collection of entities similar to her was a good decision at the very least.

**=={Zodiark}==**

**=={Precious Hesitation}==**

Life as an abyssal was actually surprisingly fairly simple.

They live in peace and spend some time around each other. Greet and take care of whatever new comrade would arrive like she had and then do battle when the ship girls would arrive at their respective areas.

The last one in particular though had been extremely difficult for her.

When the first time she had encountered the ship girls, she found herself unable to point her weapons at them and shoot. She didn't know nor could she understand why it felt so wrong to fight them.

All she knew was that the image of the ship girls, their sworn enemies, hurt or even the slightest bit damaged was so dreadful that she couldn't even bear the thought of attacking.

The first encounter had ended in her utter defeat. Her heart wasn't in the battle and when she had gathered up the will to fight back, her attacks didn't hit. The sentiment wasn't shared by the enemy however as they did everything in their power to take her down.

Yet even when she was being shot down, she still couldn't bring herself to hate them.

The other abyssal were so worried when they had found her damaged. Her clothes were in tatters and her weapons in disarray. Wanko and Hoppou, the two she had grown close two, were in tears as they tried to patch her up.

When she was laying down to rest, Midway had approached her to talk to her about what happened during the battle. She spoke of how it was natural to hesitate and how it was simply another normal thing for an abyssal to go through.

She was told that like the memories and emotions that she would feel from time to time, the hesitation to attack the ship girls would fade in time as well.

… but just like the way she didn't want to let go of the memories and emotions, she also didn't want the hesitation to hurt the ship girls fade. Even when they were so intent on taking her down.

It was a strange sentiment… but she had this strong urge to protect the ship girls instead.

She nodded to Midways words, pretending to understand, keeping her thoughts and intentions to herself and telling them the next time she would try to fight.

She didn't lie of course. She would fight but she had no intention of hurting the ship girls at all.

…

…

…

She continued on like that. Days, weeks, and months passed by and she spent her days as an abyssal. She would go into battle at times and defend herself but never did she attack seriously.

Unlike what Midway had said, instead of the feeling of hesitation fading in time, the more time had passed and the more she saw the ship girls, the more the feelings and memories got stronger. Every time she fought and saw the enemy, she would yearn for them, every time an attack would hit them, her feelings of wanting to protect them grew stronger.

To date, she was the only abyssal that had yet to actually majorly damage any ship girl, something that even the small Hoppou had already achieved.

The others found her strange but eventually simply accepted that despite her battle capabilities, she was simply far too gentle and kind to hurt her enemy. During serious large scale battles they would opt to leave her at home usually to take care and watch over Hoppou or a new comrade that had arrived.

She was fine with it. She preferred not fighting at all.

Right now however she was simply sitting on a random rock formation in the middle of the sea. There were no major battles recently and she sometimes just liked to go out to wander about, lost in her own thoughts. The others would often scold and tease her for doing it but she felt like this was the best way for her to concentrate and try to remember more of the emotions and memories that would often pay her a visit.

Even now, even though a long amount of time had already passed, she was still unable to fully grasp what the emotions and memories that would strike her mind and heart meant.

Recently though the images and memories had gotten a tad bit clearer. There were two images in particular that inspired strong emotions in her whenever she thought of them.

One of them was a girl with long brown hair in a ponytail. She moved with grace and elegance and her style was excellent. She knew she was the gentle sort, someone with that had the tendency to be shy at times but willful when necessary.

The other was a man, one who held himself with dignity and strength. The scar across his eye was the one detail she could remember vividly. She could easily imagine the man to be commanding and a figure of authority. She felt like she'd do anything if he were to command her to.

She couldn't remember their names or the sound of their voice but she felt like the two were more significant to her than any other memory she had. Just getting a glimpse of their image in her dreams was enough to put a smile to her face.

"Eh….?"

Suddenly a voice from behind her interrupted her time of contemplation.

'_Huh? Had the others already want me back?'_

She thought to herself. Sometimes she would get far too lost in thought that she would lose track of time and someone would come to pick her up.

When she turned around to take a look however, she could just barely restrain a scream of shock.

In front of her was a full fleet of ship girls, four battleships and two aircraft carriers fully armed and ready for battle.

The shock on the ship girl's face told her that they weren't exactly expecting to see her either.

There was a short moment of silence filled with tension. Neither of them moved, not really knowing what to do. When a breeze blew by it seemed that the halted time resumed.

"S-symbiotic Battleship Hime!?"

Her cry brought everyone to action. The ship girls took distance and prepared their weapons.

She on the other hand summoned her own.

'_Haah… now… hopefully I can return without getting too damaged…'_

Was the only thought that flashed in her mind.


End file.
